Pangos ended Gonzaga's 2-minute-plus scoreless streak with an up-and-under layup for a 59-56 lead with 1:27 left.

Gonzaga has now won 33 of the last 35 contests against San Diego.

Bulldog head coach Mark Few said his squad had to dig deep to pull this one out.

“It was a good win. We had to dig deep, really deep. San Diego came in here and got that thing at their pace and made enough big plays to keep it tight — and we haven’t had a tight one for a while. We responded by getting a couple of stops down the stretch, and made just enough plays on offense to get it done,” Few said.

Kyle Dranginis scored the first five points after the intermission as Gonzaga tried to regain its momentum after allowing San Diego to end the first half on a 7-2 run.

Dee and Chris Sarbaugh scored San Diego's first 11 points of the second half as the Toreros pulled within two.

Gary Bell Jr.'s second basket of the night was a big one, a 3-pointer to push Gonzaga's lead to 47-42.

But San Diego would not go away quietly.

Dee made two 3-pointers in a little under 3 minutes as San Diego inched closer at 54-50. But the crowd got involved at the 7-minute mark after Karnowski's rebound and putback.

Dee made three free throws and Dennis Kramer's layup tied the game at 55-all.

Karnowski scored eight of Gonzaga's 10 points late in the second half, his last giving the Bulldogs at 57-55 lead.

Both teams went cold down the stretch as Gonzaga missed three straight 3-pointers.

Anderson missed a 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down, giving Gonzaga the ball back with 48 seconds left. Pangos wound down the clock for Gonzaga but his 3-point attempt rolled off the rim. San Diego pushed the ball passed midcourt and called a timeout with 8.4 seconds left, down by three.

But Anderson missed another 3-pointer, while trying to draw a foul from Pangos, and the Bulldogs grabbed the rebound and the win.

The first half was close throughout, too.

Dower scored 10 of Gonzaga's first 12 points, including two 3-pointers from straight away. San Diego's defense kept the Toreros in it by not allowing a Gonzaga run of more than five points for the first 10 minutes. Dennis Kramer scored six early points, as San Diego tied it up at 17 after Dee's 3-pointer.

Duda Sanadze's 3-pointer capped an 8-0 run as San Diego took a 22-17 lead. But Gonzaga responded by scoring the next 14 points, with three consecutive baskets inside the paint, 3s by Draninis and David Stockton, and a Karnowski hook shot for a 31-22 lead.

San Diego went nearly 7 minutes without a point. Anderson ended the dry spell after he made three free throws after getting fouled from beyond the arc.

Dee's steal and layup at the buzzer pulled San Diego within 33-29 at halftime.

Bell played 11 minutes in the first half, in his first game action since breaking his right hand against Santa Clara on Dec. 28.

“Yeah, it was good to get GB out there. We need to get him a little more comfortable, a little more rhythm," Few said. "He turned down some looks that he usually takes. I think that’s just because he hasn’t practiced. We’ll continue to get him back in the mix; it was nice to be able to have another body out there defensively.”

Gonzaga got just four minutes out of Gerard Coleman, who became ill during the game.

“He got sick, he was really sick — throwing up at halftime," Few said of one of his top reserves.

The Bulldogs got some help from Portland Thursday when the Pilots took a 114-110 triple overtime victory over BYU which visits the McCarthey Athletic Center Saturday. That gives the 7-1 Bulldogs at least a two-game bulge on everybody in the loss column with the exception of 5-2 Saint Mary's.

“They are playing great. They played probably the toughest schedule out there — maybe in the country — and a lot of it was on the road in the end of the December," Few said of the Cougars. "Then they had to jump right into league and start on the road and they lost a couple of tough ones. Now they’re playing great. They’ve moved their lineup around and they are on a roll.

“It will be totally different; they play fast and furious and have some guys that can really score the ball, and those guys always show up and play very, very hard," Few said of BYU.